Osmotic dehydration of bamboo shoots was carried out using a mixture of sucrose and salt solution, keeping the sugar concentration fixed at 50°Brix, while the salt concentration was varied. The main purpose of the study was to find out the effect of the various processing conditions, i.e., sodium chloride concentration (5–15% w/w), process time (30–240 min) and solution temperature of the osmotic solution (30–50C) on water loss, solids gain, rehydration ratio and sensory quality. Experiments were designed according to central composite design, with three factors each at five different levels. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum processing conditions. The process conditions for obtaining optimum osmotic dehydration were found to be in the range of 8.89–11.08% for concentration of sodium chloride in 50°Brix sucrose syrup, 34.09–44.54C for osmotic solution temperature and 72.64–104.48 min for process time.

Bamboo shoots are popular because of its high nutrition and medicinal value. However, the shelf life of shoot is very short, and hence it cannot be stored for a long time. Osmotic drying of bamboo shoots helps preserve its nutrition for a long time. Combination of salt and sugar was found to be effective for water removal from shoots. This optimized condition can be used as a pretreatment for different drying techniques. This information may help select the osmotic agent in any industrial application for faster drying rate and to decide the type of packaging requirement for longer shelf life.